Mizzou

Missouri Whips Kansas State 75-59

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Marcus Denmon scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and No. 13 Missouri forced Kansas State into 24 turnovers in a 75-59 victory Monday night.

Phil Pressey added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Tigers (16-3, 2-2 Big 12). He’s made seven of his last nine from behind the arc in the last two games.

The Tigers led by 15 at the half and surged late after the Wildcats cut the gap to three with just over nine minutes to go.

Jacob Pullen had 16 points while Jordan Herniquez-Roberts added 14 for Kansas State (13-6, 1-3), which has dropped three of four. The Wildcats were held scoreless for nearly five minutes in the second half while Missouri put the game away with a 12-0 run that featured a spectacular one-handed alley-oop dunk by Laurence Bowers and led 70-55 with 3:50 to go.

Missouri made strides before tip-off, surprisingly jumping two places in the poll despite losing in overtime at Texas A&M on Saturday while Kansas State fell out of the Top 25. The Tigers have won four straight at home against Kansas State.

Kansas State scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the deficit to eight, and twice shaved it to three points.

Missouri shot 50 percent and hit five 3-pointers in a dominant first half for a 43-28 lead, the first double-digit deficit at the midway point for Kansas State. Curtis Kelly was whistled for his second and third fouls in a hectic final minute and the Wildcats also whistled for a 10-second call.

The Tigers held their own inside without Ricardo Ratliffe, limited to six minutes by two fouls, getting 10 points off the bench from Pressey. Justin Safford contributed his first 3-pointer since Dec. 11.

Kansas State had three blocks in the first three minutes, but its biggest lead was only 4-0. Previously, the school’s largest halftime deficit was eight points in a loss to Duke on Nov. 23 in Kansas City.